The present invention relates in general to ice dispensers, and in particular to an automatic ice cube dispenser located in the freezer compartment of a domestic refrigerator.
Ice dispensers, for use in domestic refrigerators having a freezer door mounted ice chute for conveying ice cubes through the closed freezer door, are well known in the art. Examples of such automatic ice dispensers are illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,887,119 and 3,968,906, both owned by the assignee of the present invention. The prior art dispensers illustrated in the noted patents each include a single oscillating and reciprocating ice ram that is driven by a relatively complex drive mechanism illustrated most clearly in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,380, also owned by the assignee of the present invention.
While the noted prior art ice dispensers have operated satisfactorally, they are, under certain conditions, prone to jamming. Such jamming can occur, for example, when ice cubes stored in the dispenser are inadequately agitated by the single ice ram wherein the ice cubes, over a period of time, freeze together to form lumps that jam the dispensing and agitating movement of the ice ram. Further, the drive mechanism illustrated in noted U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,380 is relatively complex and therefore expensive to manufacture.
It is a goal of the present invention to provide an ice dispenser mechanism that is less prone to jamming than prior art devices, the improved ice dispenser having a low cost, reliable drive mechanism that is relatively simple in its operation.